Three-dimensional satellite images of hurricanes and tropical storms are now available on line through a new service provided by the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The images, provided by the NOAA/NESDIS Visualization Lab, are updated regularly to show timely images of tropical storms and depressions. The Web address is: http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov

Images for the media and other authorized users are 640x480. Members of the media who wish to register as authorized users of this service should register by sending a message to: register@nnvl.noaa.gov

Provide the name of your organization, the name of a contact person, and a phone number. Accounts are free. The benefit of registering is to have access to the 640x480 images. Smaller images (320x240) are available to the general public without registering.

The Visualization Lab is planning to produce video animations and fly-throughs of hurricanes. When these are available, NOAA will notify the media via advisories.